Next to Normal
by fall in silence
Summary: Love. Sex. Drugs. Alcohol. Sadness. Passion. Anger. Ah, the teenage years. 6 best friends:Edward. Bella. Rosalie. Emmett. Alice. Jasper. Will the pressure get to them? MATURE READERS ONLY. Lemons, illegal stuff. Canon couples, non canon couples. No vamps.
1. Preface

Love. Sex. Drugs. Alcohol. Sadness. Passion. Anger. Ah, the teenage years. 6 best friends:Edward. Bella. Rosalie. Emmett. Alice. Jasper. Will the pressure get to them?

This is for mature readers only. Sex/drugs/alcohol. The works. Don't read unless you're 18.

_"He's a hero, a lover, a prince  
she's not there"

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_

Preface

Bringing Bella's face closer, Edward brushed his lips against hers softly which merely caused her to shiver. He smirked, satisfied with the way he got her to react, and began trailing kisses down her creamy neck. Bella gasped when Edward's lips brushed the sensitive skin below her left ear.

She frantically grabbed his face, pulling him back towards hers and kissed him long and hard, molding their mouths together as if her life depended on it. Bella forcefully pried his mouth open, letting her tongue explore his mouth and his explore hers.

For years, she had wanted to be with Edward in this way. She couldn't believe it was finally happening, she couldn't believe that he finally wanted her the way she wanted him. She sighed into his mouth, like girls usually do in cheesy love stories and had to hold back the cringe of how big of a cliche her life had turned out to be. He tasted perfect—like sunshine and alcohol. _Passion._

Edward's warm hands began to wander Bella's body, slowly itching their way up Bella's pale blue dress and caressing the sensitive skin on her stomach. They soon made their way up to Bella's breasts, at a painfully slow pace. Bella gasped as soon as Edward's skillful fingers touched her hardened nipples, pinching them causing her to moan.

Intense pleasure spread throughout Bella's body as they continued their exploration of each other's bodies. Bella had never felt this much pleasure from just foreplay before and it was starting to get to her head. She so desperately needed more—needed _all_ of Edward. Otherwise, she was quite certain she may explode.

Bella playfully pushed him away, causing him to give her a questioning look. She smiled in return and flipped them over, attaching her mouth to his again. She soon pressed herself closer, rocking her hips into his very obvious erection.

"Quit teasing," Edward growled, grabbing the hem of her dress and pulling it over her head. He groaned as he realized she was wearing a pair of pale blue lace boy shorts and no bra. Of course, he already knew she hadn't been wearing a bra. But seeing and feeling are two different things.

"Edward," Bella purred, leaning in to kiss his neck, sucking on the sensitive skin there for a moment before returning her attention to him. "You're wearing far too much clothes. I think we should fix that, don't you?"

"I think we should," Edward agreed, sitting up and tugging at his shirt, tossing it to the side of the bed. Bella leaned in and kissed his chest, leading trails of kisses to the bottom of his jeans. Immediately, she reached for the buckle on his belt and undid it. She had just started pulling Edward's belt out of the belt loops when she heard someone knock on the door. At first, she ignored it, reaching for the button and zipper to his pants.

"Bella--I feel sick!" Alice's voice interrupted them from the outside of the room, her tiny fists pounding on the door frantically. "Bella, damnit, open up! I. Am. Going. To. Fucking. _Puke_!"

Bella jumped back from undoing Edward's pants, receiving a groan as she bent over to pick up her dress from the floor. When she looked back to Edward he was already redressing himself with a frown. "Edward--I...I'm sorry." His green eyes locked with hers and he shook his head.

"Bell-_ah_!" Alice shouted again, successfully kicking the door open--causing Bella and Edward to both stare with their mouths wide open. _How could such a small girl pack such a large punch?_

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Now clearly that was just the preface. A taste of what's to come in the future—you know now that Bella and Edward do get together in the story and that Alice interrupts them. But, is that the only time it happens? What leads up to that fateful night? What comes after? You'll just have to keep your eyes open to find out.


	2. Look How I'm Doing

_It was the end of the summer when we crossed paths,  
the DJ was spinnin' 'til the last dance.  
I showed you a kiss like they do in France.  
Remember when you first turned sixteen?  
Said you were gonna lay me in the city of dreams.  
But you were never man enough, that's how it seems.  
You just held me down, made it harder to breathe. _  
"Look How I'm Doing" Heidi Montag

_just so you know, for now Alice has long hair. she will cut it later in the story. oh, and i apologize for the major cussing and the lack of good grammar.  
_

* * *

001.  
"Look How I'm Doing."

It was the last day of summer and Edward Cullen was throwing a party with his best friends, a typical way to end the gloomy summers that Forks, Washington always brought. All the hottest parties were held at Edward's house--which was more like a mansion, to the people in Forks standards.--and they were the only thing the teenage population could look forward too, since there was absolutely nothing to do in the small town. Alice Brandon, one of Edward's best friends, had decided they should go with a beach theme this year. _"Everyone deserves sunshine, Edward, let's do a beach theme!"_ She had said with great enthusiasm. And of course, what Alice wants--_Alice gets._

The entire high school showed up--including the incoming freshmen. The usual was happening, Lauren Mallory tried her best to grind on Jasper Whitlock and flashed him a smirk that everyone assumed was supposed to be sexy. The look on her overly fake-tanned face made it obvious she wanted to jump his bones right there on the dance floor, people or no people around. Jessica Stanley was sucking up to Bella Swan by the coolers that held assortments of alcohol, clearly kissing Bella's ass to get a coveted seat at the lunch table Edward and his friends sat at.

Alice was dancing with Rosalie Hale, clearly enjoying herself--mainly because the little pixie had so much to drink and might _possibly_ be under the influence of other illegal substances. Rosalie was eating up the attention they were getting, that you could tell by the conceited smirk that covered her face, a crowd of drunk boys that consisted of Jacob Black, Mike Newton and Tyler Crowley had gathered around the two girls grinding together. _They were practically drooling, ew._

Emmett McCarty was sitting on the large leather couch tripping balls on ecstasy, he was shouting out random obscenities and pulling at his curly dark hair. Funny thing was, Emmett didn't usually have bad trips. Angela Weber, ever-the-mother-figure of the teenage population of Forks, was sitting beside Emmett, trying to cool him down by placing a cold wash cloth on his forehead. Her boyfriend, Ben, was sitting beside her chuckling at the large boy who was squirming under the cold cloth and screaming, "Too many pink gnomes! Get the _fuck_ away from me!"

Edward shook his head and grabbed the baggie off the coffee table that held several pills in it. He chuckled and said, "No more party favors tonight, big guy. I'm not going to fucking babysit you. I'm not as nice as Angela, here."

Emmett's eyes became wide and child like as he nodded his head frantically. "Just get the fucking God damn gnomes away from me. They're multiplying! One--ten--forty...tenish?"

"Ssh, calm down. There's no pink gnomes, Emmett." Angela cooed, rolling her eyes slightly and then laughing at his expression when she took the cloth away from his head, passing it to Ben.

"No! No, I'm on fire--Christ, give me that back!" Emmett groaned, reaching for the now warm cloth.

Edward rolled his eyes and smirked. "Emmett, Ben is going to go get it cooled for you so it'll help the fire."

Emmett nodded his head, accepting the reason why they were taking it away from him and then scrunched his nose and squinted, "Hey Eddie, when did you dye your hair green? No-No, _ma-gen-ta_."

"What's going on over here?" Bella's voice interrupted Edward's snarky comeback. She was quick to put an arm around Edward's waist and place a kiss on his cheek. Bella turned her gaze to Emmett and noticed how uncomfortable he looked. She let go of Edward and threw herself on Emmett's lap. "What's wrong Emmy-kins?" She slurred, reaching to run her hand through his curls.

"The gnomes! They're after me!" Emmett carried on, placing his face in the crook of Bella's neck and taking a deep breath. "You smell like...pot...and sex. ISABELLA SWAN, WHO DID YOU FUCK THIS TIME?" Emmett said, wagging his large fingers in front of Bella's face.

Bella just giggled. "A wise girl kisses and never tells. Or something like that," She winked as she crawled off of him and sat next to Angela, who smiled warmly at her. The two began whispering to each other and giggling.

"That'a girl," Jasper drawled, coming up behind the couch and placing a hand on Bella's shoulder. "I always knew there was a nice young lady buried somewhere--very very deep--inside you." Bella shook off his hand and flicked him off, without turning around.

"Bella? A nice young lady? How funny," Rosalie snorted as she joined the group, Alice skipping close behind her.

Alice giggled. "That's like saying...well, I don't know what it's like saying right now because I'm to shit-faced to care. Know, I mean...to know."

"Christ, Alice, what happened to your hair?" Jasper exclaimed, causing everyone to look at Alice with curious eyes. Her normally long black hair was all knotted and frizzy, looking like she just came inside from a bad storm. Bella and Angela both looked up from their places on the couch and began giggling louder as they examined Alice's hair. Ben sat down beside them and handed Angela a new wash cloth to put on Emmett's forehead again.

Alice's eyes grew wide. "What's wrong with my hair?"

"It looks like it hasn't been brushed," Rosalie said dully, sipping on the clear liquid she had in the red plastic cup she had in her hands. Her violet eyes turned to Emmett who was sitting on the couch and she rolled her eyes. "Emmett, how much did you take?" Emmett shrugged his shoulders and closed his eyes, moving around nervously for a few minutes as he tried to find a comfortable position.

"My hair looks like it hasn't been brushed?" Alice screeched, pulling Bella up from the couch and continued her rant. "Why didn't you guys tell me? I knew Mike was being a little to eager earlier--but, I didn't think it was that bad!"

Bella snorted and rolled her chocolate colored eyes. "Oh, it's bad alright. And Mike? Alice, what were you thinking?"

"Nothing," Alice said quickly as she grabbed Rosalie's cup and took a gulp out of it, finishing the last of whatever was actually in there. She winced at the strong taste and tossed the cup back to Rosalie, who was giving her the Rosalie-Hale-signature glare. "You guys know I don't think well when I'm--"

"--drunk off your ass?" Jasper supplied, not letting Alice finish. "Believe me, Alice, we know."

Alice hissed, yes actually hissed, at Jasper and turned away from the group. She stopped in front of Mike Newton and reached up to play with his blond hair. The little prick smirked at her and leaned down to whisper something in her ear, which she giggled in response and nodded her head. Mike reached down and grabbed one of her tiny hands, moving them towards the staircase and walking up it, disappearing somewhere upstairs.

"Fashion sense, she most definitely has." Rosalie said scrunching up her nose in disgust. "Taste in boys, she is lacking in that department."

"She is going to regret that in the morning," Jasper groaned, taking a drag of his cigarette and earning several nods of agreement. "And he's going to be embarrassed in the morning," He said, motioning towards Emmett who was now asleep on the couch and mumbling 'Gnomes' 'Too pink'. "The second one sounds good, but the first one not so much. A regretful Alice is a painful Alice."

Bella nodded her head, "I'd totally go barge in wherever they went, but I don't particularly want to go blind."

Edward laughed loudly and responded. "I know what you mean. They just better stay the fuck out of my room otherwise there will be hell to pay."

"Along with a dry cleaning bill for your bedding, I assume?" Rosalie smirked, earning a chuckle from both Jasper and Bella. Edward nodded his head and mumbled something no one understood.

Jacob Black was watching the group of friends and smiled to Tyler Crowley, who nodded at him as if he was agreeing with him on something. Jacob placed the blue plastic cup he was drinking out of on the fire place and began walking towards them.

"Hey Rosalie," Jacob said as he placed his tan arm around Rosalie's shoulder. Rosalie lifted her eyes up to meet with his and smirked at his eager expression. "I just fixed up the rabbit, want to come..._check it out_." He lifted his eyebrows and let a smile overtake his features.

Rosalie laughed like an idiot and said, "Nice try, _dog_. But not happening,"

"Why's that?" Jacob asked, lifting his arm off her shoulders and brushing it down her right arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps.

"You know I only have eyes for Bella," Rosalie purred into Jacob's ear and kissed his neck lightly before pulling away with a conceited smirk.

Jacob groaned. "You guys could always both _come_."

"I think I'll have to pass on that one," Bella responded as she giggled. "The last time, I'm certain you didn't even know where to put it."

"Ha-ha," Jacob said sarcastically, rolling his eyes and smiling at Bella, who smiled in return. Jacob was one of the few people Bella talked to at school, aside from her usual crowd. Bella and Jacob were always joking around with each other, trying to drag each other down. It was a game the two of them played. "Come on Rosie, just this once. I'm sure you'll like the my new ride,"

Rosalie brought her hand up to play with the incredibly tall boys freakishly long hair and pursed her lips together, clearly considering the offer. "Fine, but I call _shot _gun." She said, implying that she was calling the shots and he got no say in how far they went.

"Sounds good to me," Jacob said wiggling his eyebrows and tugging Rosalie out the door with him.

Edward and Jasper both broke out into laughter, sharing a look with each other. "Damn, Edward, it seems to me only we can hold alcohol or any other substances."

"I don't disagree." Edward nodded as he continued to laugh. "Rosalie is going to hate herself in the morning. Do you remember the last time she got so drunk and hooked up with that guy from Port Angeles?"

"Hey, you know perfectly well I can handle my share of alcohol." Bella protested, pouting as she bit her lip in a cute way that only she could pull off. She reached the top of her zip-up sweatshirt and unzipped it, fanning herself. The boys got a peak at her size too small grey tank top she was wearing underneath it, which you could see her turquoise bra through it. "It's so hot in here,"

"Not that I don't enjoy the peep show, darlin'," Jasper started, looking back towards were Tyler and Eric were starring at Bella with over-eager eyes, practically mind-fucking her and frowning. "But you may want to cover yourself up."

Bella stuck her tongue out at Jasper and reached up to pull him next to her, in the seat where Angela and Ben were originally sitting but had slipped away unnoticed a few minutes prior. Jasper wrapped his arms around Bella and she curled into his chest, nodding her head in time to the music that was playing in the background. "One pill makes you larger....one pill makes you small..." She sang along to in his chest, causing him to chuckle from the vibrations.

"Hey, Eddie." Lauren purred, grabbing Edward's left arm and turning him towards her. She drew herself closer to his body, causing him to cringe at the closeness. He had hooked up with Lauren twice last school year and she had gotten the idea that he would want her all the time. "Do you want to come upstairs with me for a bit?" She whispered in his ear, playfully biting it which caused him to shudder in disgust.

"I'd rather not, no." Edward said coolly, shaking his head and turning his head, hoping she would get the point to leave them alone.

Lauren pouted and turned her eyes to Jasper, who still had his arms around Bella. Bella was still singing along to the old song that was just finishing up and Jasper smiled contently as he rubbed his fingers across Bella's pale arm. "How about you, Jazzy?"

Jasper lifted his eyes for a moment and glared at her. "Does it look like I want to go upstairs with Forks resident white trash?"

Edward chuckled, while Bella lifted her head from Jasper's chest and laughed along with Edward. The three began to laugh harder when Lauren stomped away nearly knocking a too drunk Eric Yorkie on the way. "Scoot over, I'd like to join you guys on my couch." Edward said to Bella and Jasper, who both scooted over as far as they could without waking up Emmett.

"When do you think all these people will leave?" Jasper asked as Bella sat up straight and leaned into Edward, lifting her feet up and draping them over Jasper's lap. Jasper placed his hands on her legs and smiled when Bella jumped at the contact. He then looked around the room and noticed that there weren't as many people as earlier, but there were still a lot of people from town there.

Edward shrugged. "It's three thirty, so, I'm hoping soon. They do, after all, have to get up in...oh, three hours to drag their sorry asses to school."

"No," Bella mumbled. "They have to drag their sorry asses out of bed, to the diner to get some coffee, then to school."

Jasper and Edward chuckled, both agreeing. There was only one diner in town, and everyone went there for meals...coffee...dates, whatever. It was a very plain diner, but it was perfect for the small town. Besides, if they wanted to go somewhere bigger it was only about an hours drive to Port Angeles, and lord knows there is a lot more to do there than in Forks.

"Touche," Edward said, brushing Bella's hair out of her face and smiling down at her. Out of all his friends, he and Bella were the closest. He knew that he could show up to her house at four-thirty in the morning and she'd listen to whatever it was he wanted to say, even if it was something stupid.

"Hey, man," A senior named Embry came up to them, with his arms wrapped around a girl and a cheesy-drunk-off-his-ass smirk covering his face. "We're heading out, killer party." The girl simply nodded her agreement and reached up to give Embry a sloppy kiss on the lips, before tugging him out the door.

"We're heading out too," Another senior, Quil, said as he walked over to the couch, giving Jasper and Edward high fives and laughing when Bella stuck her tongue out at them. Quil had several other guys and girls behind him who were nodding or waving at Edward. "You know how to throw them parties real good, Cullen." Another boy drawled, clearly to drunk to make sense of his own words.

"See you at school," Leah Clearwater said, dragging Sam Uley by the strings on his sweatshirt. Edward nodded at her and smirked at Sam who was flaring his nostrils and clearly trying not to swat his girlfriend's hand away.

"I guess that's my cue to drag Emmett's ass to his house and go get an hour of sleep," Jasper said after everyone slowly cleared out. He stretched his arms above his head, trying to get the kinks out of his shoulders from sitting on a couch with four other people. "Do you need a ride home, Bells?"

Bella shrugged and peaked out of the corner of her eye towards Edward. "Would it be alright if I just stayed the night? I don't particularly want to explain to Charlie why I'm just getting home at three something on a school night."

"Your call," Edward said, shrugging his shoulders. He didn't mind either way--it wasn't like they hadn't spent the night together, before.

"I think I'll just stay here, Jazzy." Bella yawned, covering her mouth and looking oddly like a little girl.

Jasper nodded his head and picked up an empty can of beer. He tossed it at Emmett's body. "Hey jackass, get up."

Emmett's eyes popped open and he sat up quickly. He began glancing around nervously, a confused look on his face. He was clearly trying to figure out where he was. When he realized where he was he groaned, covering his eyes and stretched. "What?" He asked in a shaky voice and closed his eyes again.

"I need to get you home, big boy." Jasper said in a girly voice, which caused Edward to laugh and Emmett to open his eyes again.

"I can't feel my toes."

"Well there's no way in hell I'm carrying you," Jasper said, shaking his head and kicking Emmett's foot.

"Ow!" Emmett shouted.

"You can feel your damn feet," Jasper smirked and kicked his foot again. "Get your lazy ass up, come on. I don't got all night. I'd like to get at least a nap before hell in the morning."

Emmett slowly rose to his feet and squinted his eyes to look at the clock. "Fuck. God damn shit. I was supposed to be home hours ago. Stupid fucking pink gnomes. But I beat them. I won that war," He continued to mumble as he stumbled out the door.

Jasper chuckled. "This should be an interesting ride home. I'll see you guys in a few hours," He said leaning over and kissing Bella's forehead. He quickly pounded his and Edward's fists together before grabbing his cell phone, keys and pack of cigarettes up off the table. With one final salute he made his way out the door, but turned back and shouted. "Alice, get your ass down here. We're going home. And Newton, I swear to god, I'll chop off your dick and mount it on my bedroom wall if you don't get down here now."

Bella's eyes popped open and she chuckled sleepily. "I completely forgot they went upstairs," She snuggled into Edward's side and closed her eyes again, but it wasn't long before she heard two separate sets of footsteps running down the stairs.

"Damnit, Newton, get your filthy paws off of me!" Alice shrieked, clearly coming to her senses now and bent down to slip her other shoe on. She shook her hair out of her face and jogged over to Jasper. "Thanks a lot for stopping me, Jazz."

Bella and Edward both giggled together. "I owe my thanks to you two, also, for making me look like a fool." Alice scolded playfully as she slipped her purse over her shoulders and grabbed Jasper's arm, tugging him out the door. "Come on, let's go."

"Bye guys," Jasper and Alice both said at the same time as they shut the door, Mike following only seconds afterward.

Edward sighed and moved Bella off of him, receiving a protesting groan from her. "Come on, let's go upstairs and pass the fuck out."

"Sounds good to me," Bella mumbled as she reached up and grabbed Edward's hand for support. They two quickly--well, as quick as two very tired people could go--made their way up the stairs, falling in a heap on Edward's bed.


	3. Wild Hope

**.asshat fanfiction. i had this all nice re-typed it in the document manager, and then I went to save it and it decided to delete it allllll. sorry for any spelling errors/missing words/etc etc. I don't have a beta. If I get enough readers and decide to keep up this story, then I'll probably find someone to beta the story.  
**

**

* * *

**_In the crazy world  
Anything can happen  
If you will it to  
I'm just a hazy girl  
Blurring all the edges  
Only seeing blue_  
"Wild Hope" Mandy Moore

* * *

After receiving only two hours and twenty minutes of sleep, Edward's alarm clock began buzzing in attempt to wake him and Bella up. Groaning in protest, Edward opened his eyes but then shut them almost immediately. Eventually, the buzzing became too annoying for his taste and he opened his eyes. He quickly sat up and punched his alarm clock, getting it to stop buzzing. Rubbing his eyes like a sleepy child, he stretched his arms out and looked at Bella, who was still asleep--snoring lightly--and curled into a tight ball. He chuckled to himself at how little she looked while she slept, so innocent.

Standing up from his side of the bed, he walked over to his window and opened the curtains. It looked as if it was going to be a typical day in the life of someone who lived in Forks their entire life. Rainy and terribly gloomy. A bit of lightening struck in the distance and he rolled his eyes. Couldn't it be nice outside?_ Just for once?_ He looked at Bella once more before deciding it would be appropriate to let her sleep in a few more minutes while he got his shower.

Walking over to his closet, he reached to open the door but instead stopped short, seeing a piece of light yellow paper tapped to the door. He opened it up with a sigh and read the girlish handwriting.

_Edward,  
Since I'm assuming Bella stayed the night, I left a bag of clothes for her in your closet. There's also a new outfit for you. If you don't wear it, your piano gets it.  
Hugs and kisses,  
Alice._

Rolling his eyes, Edward opened to the door to his closet--earning a creek in response, he darted his eyes to Bella's form on the bed to make sure she hadn't woken up yet. Of course, she hadn't. He reached into his closet and pulled out a very large plastic bag with the word Express written on the side of it. Peaking into the bag he groaned, this one was his new outfit for school: a pair of dark grey dress pants and a blue and white button up shirt, like one he already has. "Stupid pixie," he muttered to himself softly as he sat the bag down on the floor and walked towards the bathroom door to get ready.

Within twenty minutes, Edward was clean and dressed, ready for his day. Well, as ready as anyone could be on the first day of school. He honestly didn't get the first day of school, it was always the same thing: a half day of classes, girls screeching to each other from across the hallway as if they hadn't seen each other in years, when in reality they probably saw each other less than twenty fours before, teachers lecturing you on how you must behave this year and what materials you would need. If Edward could skip one day the entire year, this would be it.

"Bella?" Edward said softly as he sat on her side of the bed and nudged her gently with his arm. He chuckled when she groaned and rolled away from him, now taking up the entire bed. "Bella," he said again, playfully yanking a piece of her dark hair, causing her to slap him rather hardly on the arm. "Bella, get up!" he shouted this time, causing Bella to bolt up from her position on the bed.

Her dark eyes darted around the room frantically, trying to place where she was. Upon figuring out she was in Edward's bedroom, she narrowed her eyes and turned to glare at Edward. "It's to early," she groaned, closing her eyes tightly and then opening them again, blinking a few more times to try to clear her vision.

"I know," Edward chuckled, playfully ruffling her already messed up hair and getting up from the bed to give her room to get up. Bella sat up slowly and stretched her tiny limbs, quickly unzipping her sweatshirt and throwing it off to the side of the bed. "Do you have anything I could wear? I could always wear one of your dress shirts, lord knows they're long enough to be a dress, and where them with a pair of tights I know I left her a couple days ago."

"Actually," Edward started as he backed away from Bella, trying to avoid the complaining he knew was to come. "Alice left a bag of clothes for us to wear today." he closed his eyes, waiting for her to punch him, kick him--something. When it didn't come, he peaked at her and noticed she was just sitting there starring towards his closet.

"Over there?" Bella asked with a yawn as she pointed towards the closet. Edward nodded and Bella walked over to the bag, peaking in it and groaning. "Heels? _Really?_ As if I don't have enough problems walking in tennis shoes. Let's throw some heels on me!" tossing the bag to the floor, she began pulling her shirt over her head and tossing it by her sweatshirt.

Bella reached into the bag again and pulled out the pale blue button up sweater that Alice put in there. Pulling it over her arms, she slipped it on and began buttoning it. Looking at herself in the mirror she frowned, "Gee, is this tight enough?" she asked to herself, noting how tight the sweater stretched across her breasts. She had to admit, though, it looked good on her. And it would look even better with the dark wash skinny jeans Alice picked out for it. It would even look good with those damn pumps Alice insisted on her wearing.

Edward just stared at her and cleared his throat as he shook his head. "Um. Maybe...you should go get...your shower?" he finally managed to croak out, earning a smirk from Bella who walked over to him and kissed his cheek. "Mkay," she said as she picked up the bag and skipped into the bathroom, much like how Alice would've done. Over her shoulder she called, "If I'm not out in twenty minutes, I passed out 'cause it's too early."

Running a hand nervously through his messy bronze hair, Edward decided to go downstairs and fix some coffee for him and Bella. Because, while Bella seemed to be in a good mood now, he knew that once she reached the school's parking lot: she'd be in a terrible mood. And Bad-mood-Bella only had one cure: a nice cup of coffee. Edward quickly made his way down the staircase and walked into the kitchen. He put on a pot of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table with a yawn. "I really need to start getting more sleep," he mumbled to himself as he placed his head on the table, resting for a moment.

Edward was just about ready to fall back asleep when he heard the clunking of shoes heading down his stairs. He looked up to see Bella clutching on to the railing for dear life as she made her way slowly down the stairs. Edward couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of his clumsy best friend trying to walk in heels. "Problems, Bella?" he asked as he walked over to one of the cabnits to grab two coffee mugs. Putting himself to work, he poured to cups full of coffee and put a lot of cream and sugar in Bella's.

"Here," he said, pushing Bella's cup of coffee across the table when she sat down. "You look like you're going to need this."

"Thank you," Bella said lightly as she took a gulp from her cup, nearly dropping it on the table after she realized how hot it was. She stuck her tongue out and began fanning it.

"Bella," Edward chuckled, shaking his head. "That's not going to help it."

"Shut up," Bella responded, running her teeth down her tongue and causing Edward to raise his eyebrows.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm not sure," Bella said, crinkling her nose and giggling. Leaning her elbows on the table she asked, "So when are Papa and Mama Cullen coming back to the homestead?"

Edward shrugged. "I'm assuming next Friday,"

Edward's parents were always traveling, thanks to Edward's father, Carlisle Cullen's, line of work. Currently he was teaching some classes at UCLA (lucky son of a bitch) and took Esme with him. Since they only left a week ago, they decided it would be best for Edward to stay in Forks and start school on time.

Bella nodded and sighed. "I so don't feel like going to school today."

"Me either," Edward said, rolling his eyes. "Do you think we should leave early or at the last possible minute?" Please say last possible minute...

"Probably early," Bella groaned. "I'd much rather go at the last possible minute, but you know Alice. She'll want us to make our 'entrance' as a group."

"Stupid pixie," they both cursed their friend at the same time, before joining each other in laughter. Edward was just about ready to say something when his door bell rang, followed by several knocks.

"Oh boy," Bella sighed, rolling her eyes. "Whoever could that be?"

Edward chuckled as he purposely took one more slow drink of his coffee and stood up, walking slower to the door. Bella followed close behind him. Just as he unlocked the door, it swung open, both Edward and Bella barely dodging it. On Edward's porch was, Alice, who was holding a box of donuts, Jasper who looked as if he hadn't slept. Emmett, who looked relatively normal and Rosalie who looked downright pissed. "Good morning, Edward, Bella!" Alice chirped as she walked past them and into the living room.

Alice beamed at Bella before saying, "Oh, Bella! You wore what I put out for you! I'm so proud of you!"

"Do I get an award for that?" Bella said sarcastically and watched as Alice's face fell. She quickly smiled and said, "I look pretty hot, don't I?"

"Sure do, Bells." Jasper said as he walked over to the box of donuts and took a chocolate one out, immediately taking a bite out of it and earning a look of disaprovel from Alice. "What?" he asked, letting crumbs of chocolate fall onto his pink and white striped shirt. It was almost identical to Edward's, just in pink and it's stripes were thicker. Edward wondered if Alice dressed him too.

"Jazzy," Alice said lightly as she reached up and brushed the crumbs off his shirt. "What did I tell you on the way here?"

"That school fucking sucks?" Jasper guessed.

Alice laughed softly, sounding like bells. "No, silly, after that."

Jasper shrugged, "I don't remember. I'm hardly awake, so..."

"Well, Jasper, what I said was," Alice started off calmly and then raised her voice. "That shirt cost nearly two hundred dollars, be careful with it or I'll chop your dick off."

Jasper's mouth dropped open and Alice smirked in victory.

"How are you feeling this morning, Emmett?" Bella asked Emmett sweetly, turning her head in his direction to try and get the spotlight off of Jasper and Alice. Emmett groaned in response and walked over to Bella's cup of coffee, taking a drink of it. Bella walked over to him, nearly tripping on her heels, and snatched the cup from his hands, hitting his chest.

"That would be mine, Emmett." Bella said, looking into the cup and seeing that he downed a good portion of her coffee. She glared at him before placing the cup back on the table and saying, "Remind me, why am I friends with you?" sarcastically.

"Because you love me," Emmett flashed a weak smile and then laughed. "And, I feel like a truck ran me over."

"How cute," Rosalie said, making her presence finally known. She raised a perfectly waxed eyebrow and said, "So, are we going to leave or not?"

"We'll leave faster than you did with Jacob last night," Edward chuckled as he grabbed his car keys from the table and walked over to where his backpack was hanging.

Alice smiled and reached into her over-sized tote bag. "Oh, Bella, I forgot. I got you something so much cuter than your backpack to carry books around in!" Alice pulled out a medium sized white quilted Chanel bag and tossed it at Bella, who rolled her eyes.

"Alice, I can't take this. It cost way to much money--"

"Take it or else your Jane Austen collection might go missing." Alice smirked after a moment of silence and watched as Bella slipped her cell phone and i-Pod into the bag with a pout.

"Let's go!" Rosalie barked as she stormed out of Edward's house and got into her car. The other's just stood there laughing amongst themselves until she honked her horn impatiently, causing all of them to jump and go out the door. Once they were all in the proper vehicles, they drove off to the high school.

It was a pretty short drive and soon they reached the already packed parking lot. They quickly found three parking spots in the same row and pulled in. Edward and Bella rode together in Edward's ever-present silver Volvo, while the rest split up between Rosalie and Alice's cars. Bella quickly unbuckled her seat belt as Edward parked the car, and was about ready to get out when Edward said, "Tsk, tsk, you know I open the car door for you."

"Tsk, tsk," Bella mimicked as Edward childishly stuck his tongue out at her. Soon enough, Edward was at Bella's door, opening it. "Thank you kind sir," Bella giggled as she did a curtsy.

"Your welcome, fare maiden." Edward played along, tipping an imaginary hat.

The others had gathered towards Edward's car, casually leaning against it with Bella and Edward noticing it. "Boy," Edward said sarcastically as he joined his friends. "You guys sure don't waste any time."

"Damn straight," Jasper nodded as he took out a pack of cigarettes. "Keep a watch so I don't get in trouble," he asked Alice as he took out his pale grey lighter. Alice reached up and knocked it out of his hands. "You're not smoking that here. I don't feel like bailing you out of trouble on the first day."

Jasper groaned and rolled his eyes. "Oh, Edward, it looks like you've got a fan-girl coming towards you." He said in a sing-a-song voice.

"Shit," Edward grumbled as he noticed Lauren walking, or trying to sashay, towards them. "Oh look, Alice, you've got one too."

"A fan girl?" Alice asked confused, before turning her head to see Mike walking towards them also. "Damnit,"

"Hey, Edward." Lauren purred as she brought her hand up to run it through Edward's hair. "It's good to see you. How was your summer?"

Edward stared at her as if she were a piece of gum on his shoe and cleared his throat. "It was, ah, fine...Lauren."

"That's good," Lauren smiled as she placed a kiss on Edward's cheek. "You know, if you want...I can make your summer a whole lot better. It isn't officially over for fifteen minutes."

Edward's nostrils flared and he shot a frantic look at his friends. "You aren't needed here, Lauren." Bella said sharply as she placed a hand on Edward's wrist. "Go along now, I'm sure there's some freshmen you haven't fucked yet."

"Oh, like you're one to talk." Lauren sneered.

Rosalie smiled warmly at Lauren and stepped over to her. "Oh, Lauren, did you dye your hair?" she asked, picking at a piece of Lauren's white-blond hair.

"I did, actually." Lauren beamed, petting it as if it were the worlds finest fur. "Do you like it?"

Rosalie's smile never left her face. "Not at all, actually. It totally doesn't mesh with your fake-ass tan."

Lauren's face looked shocked for a minute, but she covered it up quickly. "My mother says it looks great with my skin tone."

"Doesn't your mother have bright red hair, a bad perm and constantly wear poodle skirts?" Alice asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"I--you." Lauren stuttered and widened her eyes.

"Oh poor dear," Rosalie said, yanking a piece of Lauren's hair rather harshly. "You should really change your hair or something."

"Or something," Bella and Alice echoed sweetly, offering a smile as Lauren huffed and stomped off towards the school, not unlike she had done last night.

Mike took this moment to clear his throat. "Hey, Alice. I brought you some coffee," he said, reaching his hand out towards Alice with a cup of coffee from the diner.

Alice cleared her throat nervously and darted her eyes between her friends before taking the coffee. "Ah, thanks...Mike."

"No problem," Mike offered an eager smile before asking. "So, I was wondering--Jess and Tyler want to go to Port Angeles to see that new movie. Ah, what's it called?_ Adventureland_? I...well, I wanted to see if maybe...you were in."

"I--"Alice said, clearing her throat again and smiling sadly. "That's really nice of you Mike...but, I don't think...I'm...I kind of have plans already tonight."

Mike's face immediately fell and he said, "Oh...that's alright. Maybe another time?"

"Maybe," Alice said sweetly, causing Mike to beam as he walked away.

Rosalie smirked. "And what's that about, Miss Brandon? Do you like Mike Newton?"

"No," Alice answered quickly before taking in a deep breath. "I don't know," and shrugging. "I mean he's nice...and believe it or not, I did have fun with him last night. It's just...oh, I don't know. I think--I think that...I might like someone else."

Emmett pretended to act flattered, "Oh, tinkerbell, I didn't know you thought about me like that."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Oh come on Emmett, you know I only have eyes for you." she chuckled as she played along.

"I always knew there was something different about your friendship," Jacob smirked as he stopped in front of them, Quil and Embry in toe like the good little sidekicks they are. Jacob was quick to drape his arm over Bella's shoulder and roll his eyes as she stiffened beneath him. "How are you on this lovely evening Bells?"

"It's morning, Jacob," Bella said, rolling her eyes as she shook his arm off her shoulder. "Quil, Embry." she nodded at the other tall boys, who both smiled in return. Quil gave a half wave, but quickly put his hand in his jeans pocket.

"So...Bella," Jacob said, drawing a line up and down her arm with one of his fingers. "Did you want to, maybe hang out tonight? My dad's going to your place..." he leaned down and placed a little kiss on her neck, causing her to shiver from the contact. Beside them, Rosalie's face was turning bright red and she cleared her throat.

"Damnit," Rosalie muttered as she clutched her tote bag. "Get a room, you too."

"Now, Rosie, there's no need to be jealous." Jacob said sweetly and winked at her.

Rosalie groaned and rolled her violet eyes, stomping away to the school. "Fuck you, Jacob Black." she said, flicking him off over her shoulder.

"Been there, done that." Jacob responded evenly, pushing a piece of Bella's hair out of her eyes. "So. Tonight?"

Bella batted her eyelashes. "Nope."

"Fine," Jacob groaned, rolling his eyes. "I'll just come to your place."

"Well, good luck with that." Bella smirked. "Because I'm not going to be home tonight."

Jacob shrugged and turned to Embry and Quil. "Cheer-leading practice is probably still going on in the gym, right?"

"Probably," Embry shrugged, smiling at Jacob.

Jacob turned back towards everyone and said, "Well, we're off to go sexually harass some cheerleaders."

"Perv." Bella said smiling at Jacob, who winked in return. The three tall boys walked away, making their way towards the school and disapearing into the building. But, just as they walked in the school, the warning bell rang, warning everyone that they had seven minutes to get to their homeroom classes for schedules and such.

"Well, I'm off." Alice chirped, practically skipping away and smiling at Jessica Stanley, who walked over to her, probably complimenting her outfit or something.

Emmett added, "Yeah. Me too. I'll see you guys in a few hours."

"For sure," Jasper drawled, walking towards the building not so long after Emmett. Jasper always had been terrible at goodbyes, unless he'd been drinking.

Bella frowned. "I guess we should probably go, then."

"Probably," Edward responded as they walked towards the front doors. "I'll walk you to your homeroom."

"Edward, no." Bella said evenly. "Your homeroom is pretty far from mine. I don't want to make you walk with me."

Edward rolled his eyes and placed his arm over her shoulder, pulling her to his side. "Yeah, I think I'm going to walk you anyway."

"Fine," Bella said snuggling into his side as they walked the halls, earning several glances in their direction."Everyone is starring."

"I noticed," Edward smirked and shrugged lazily. "You'd think they'd get used to me and you walking like this."

"You'd think," Bella echoed as they stopped in front of her classroom. "I'll see you in a few hours."

"See ya," Edward waved as he walked away from Bella's homeroom at a fast pace so he wouldn't get in trouble for being tardy on the first day.


	4. Mirror Blue Night

glad you guys are liking the story, so far! and the "pink gnome" part. just so you all know, my friend...she inspired that. she got to high one day, i wasn't friends with her at the time, and saw "pink gnomes" all over her kitchen and they were multiplying. lol. i bought a gnome, spray painted in pink and gave it to her for her birthday last year. ;] Sorry for any errors, still no beta. Blaa-blaa-blaa, don't own anything.

* * *

And the whispers of fear, the chill up the spine  
Will steal away too, with a flick of the light  
The minute you do it, with fingers so blind  
You remove every bit of the blue from your mind  
"The Mirror Blue Night" - _the boys of Spring Awakening_

* * *

It was the end of the school day, somewhere around 11:30 and Bella was walking from her last 'class' quickly to get to Edward's car. It had taken a little extra time during that class, her creative writing class, because a couple of stupid freshmen thought it would be cool to prank the teacher on the first day. _Yeah, not so much_. As a punishment to them, Mrs. Holt had the entire class stay after an extra ten minutes.

"Hey, Bella, wait up." James Stark's voice said loudly from behind her, he immediately caught up with her and slowed his pace. "How was your first day?" he asked nicely and smiled warmly at her.

Bella was used to James following her around like a lost puppy, it was how it had been since they were kids. But something was different about him today, and she couldn't place it right away. She stared at him for a moment maybe before it clicked: it seemed his zits cleared up overnight, thank god for proactive, and off were his glasses (_1-800 contacts, anyone?_) and the braces his teeth had been sporting since the fifth grade were gone. He didn't look horrible--his blond hair was sticking up in random places, which reminded her of Edward's hair, and he was dressed very nicely, compared to how he used to dress last year.

Bella smiled, eying him and then using the same voice she always used on him. "My summer was, well, pretty uneventful. How was yours?"

"It was fine," James said returning the smile. "I went to visit my mother and her new family in New York, she works at some hot shot fashion magazine. Anyways, she forced me to get a makeover. Thank you for asking,"

"Did you?" Bella asked in false confusion. "Oh! You got contacts? I'm not going to lie James, you look nice." Bella smiled widely at James as he ducked his head and blushed.

"Thank you," James mumbled. "You look nice too." He said so fast, Bella almost didn't hear him.

The two stopped at Bella's locker, thoughts of getting to Edward's car were pushed in the back of her mind now. She quickly opened her locker to find that Alice had already placed her school supplies in it and decorated it for her. Bella rolled her eyes and put the book she received from her Literature class on the top shelf, shutting the locker with a sigh. "So, what are you doing tonight, James? Any big parties?" She teased, like she always did.

For some reason--although James could get terribly annoying, Bella was nice to him. Always had been, or always tried to at least. It's just how she always acted towards him.

James laughed, "Oh, you know it." He rolled his eyes and then cleared his throat, clearly becoming nervous. "I was, uh, actually...wondering if--"

"Bella! We thought you'd forgot about us, Edward sent me to come search the school for you." Alice chirped as she skipped towards the two, she eyed James and said, "Oh, hello, I don't think we've ever met. I'm Alice," she stuck out her hand in hopes of him shaking it.

"Alice, you know James Stark." Bella rolled her eyes and watched as Alice's grew wide.

Alice laughed nervously and said, "Oh! James? Did you--you got contacts! And...is that Armani you're wearing?"

"I, ah, I guess so?" James said as a question, not an answer.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Alice said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively and causing James to turn pink, usually something Bella would do, and look down at his shoes.

James responded, "I was...just about ready to ask Bella if she wanted to hang out tonight. With me."

Bella turned to Alice, asking for permission since she had already made plans with her friends. Alice nodded her head vigorously and gave two thumbs up. "That would be fun, James."

Instantly, James looked down at his feet sadly. "It's okay--I didn't expect you to--wait, you said yes?" James asked, snapping his head up and starring at Bella with an excited look on his face. Bella nodded and smiled. "I--okay! I'll pick you up at...six, then?"

"Sure," Bella laughed as she linked arms with Alice. "I'll see you then, James." The two made their way out the main doors of the school giggling like a couple of five year old's.

When they reached Edward's car, Alice was practically bouncing from excitement. "What are you going to wear tonight, Bella? Oh, please let me dress you up! Please, please, please!"

"What's tonight?" Edward smirked as he opened the front door for Bella, who nodded her thank you and then opened the passenger door for Alice.

Alice giggled as she slid into the car and said, "Bella's got her first date for the school year,"

"Oh, really? And with who?" Edward responded smoothly as he closed the door and walked to his side of the car, slipping inside and turning his attention back to Alice.

"James Stark!" Alice said, getting an amused look from Edward.

"_James Stark_. So, it's a pity date, then. Right?" Edward said, throwing a glance in Bella's direction. Bella simply shook her head as a no, causing Edward to raise his eyebrows. "I don't understand. Every time he's asked you out in the past you've said no."

"He got hot," Alice smirked as she shrugged her extremely small shoulders. As Edward pulled out of the parking lot she leaned forward and whispered, "Bella's totally going to take his virginity away from him."

"Alice!" Bella hissed, swatting at her tiny friend who just laughed in response. "We don't know if he's a virgin or not--and who said I was going to sleep with him?"

"Bella, be real. This is James Stark we're talking about, he's been saving himself for you since--well, forever." Edward chuckled as they pulled into his driveway. Emmett's jeep was already there, Rosalie and Jasper were leaning together towards the back and Emmett was sitting on the ground smoking something. "There is no way he'd risk his purity on someone else, when you could corrupt it."

"Edward!" Bella hissed again, rolling her eyes. "I'm not going to sleep with him!" She quickly decided to add, "At least, not yet." as an after thought. Edward's eyebrows rose again while Alice giggled in the backseat and quickly jumped out of the car.

"You guys!" Alice said in a sing-song voice as she walked over to Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper. "Guess what?"

Bella rolled her eyes as Edward walked to her side of the car and opened the door for her. "I swear, I'm going to kill that pixie one day."

"Step in line," Edward winked as they walked over to Emmett's Jeep. "We've been friends for years and you guys still don't know where we keep the spare key?"

"Clearly we don't," Jasper replied, draping his arm over Rosalie's shoulders. "So, back to Alice: what are we guessing?"

"Bella has a date!" Alice chirped as she danced over to where Emmett was sitting and grabbed the joint from his hand, taking a hit of whatever he was smoking. She coughed lightly and as soon as she stopped, she said. "Guess who?"

Rosalie laughed. "If it's Jacob, good luck. He could barely get it up last night,"

"God, no, it's not Jacob." Bella gagged, rolling her eyes.

"It's James!" Alice said with a squeal and clapped her hands together as if this were the greatest thing to ever happen in her life.

Jasper laughed hysterically. "You _can't_ be serious."

"James _Stark_?" Emmett joined in on Jasper's laughter. "Oh, God, Alice that's rich. Please, as if Bella would date _that_."

"For real, Alice. How dumb do you think we are?" Rosalie added.

Alice's eyes widened. "When have I ever lied to you guys?"

"True," Emmett responded seriously. "But, really, James Stark? Bella, the guys a grade-a creep."

"No, he's not. He's never done anything wrong," Bella argued, stepping over to the large flower pot Esme had on the porch, and reaching inside to grab a key.

"Bella, the guy plays with dolls." Rosalie said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"They're action figures!" Both Jasper and Emmett said in a mocking tone at the same time, while Bella unlocked Edward's door.

"But, seriously, Bella." Rosalie continued, placing a hand on Bella's shoulder as everyone walked into Edward's house slowly. "There's something off about him. I don't know what, but, I just--I don't want you to get hurt."

"He seems like one of those kids that would snap and bring a gun to school," Jasper agreed as he placed his hand on the small of Bella's back, causing her to jump.

"You guys," Bella warned, shooting a pleading look at Edward.

"They're right," Edward responded softly, earning a glare from Bella. He smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. I'll keep my mouth shut now,"

Bella smiled softly at him and then turned her attention back to everyone else. "He may not be like us, but he does need friends. There's less of a chance of that happening if he has someone to talk too. I'm not saying that he's like that--'cause he's not! This is James Stark, for Christ sake! He's never done anything wrong. Not to mention, this is Forks. That kind of stuff just doesn't exist around here!"

"It can happen anywhere, Bells." Jasper said soothingly.

"Can't you guys just be excited for me? This isn't Degrassi, James isn't going to go all Rick on us."

"Degrassi? Bella, how do you even remember that? We haven't watched that in ages," Rosalie chuckled.

"Stay on topic!" Bella hissed, earning a glare from Rosalie. "If someone were to bring a gun in to school, it would probably be because of us. And you know what, Rosalie, you'd probably be the first one shot!"

Everyone just stared at Bella for a moment, letting the silence linger. "I--I'm sorry...I didn't...that was out of line."

"Whatever," Rosalie snapped as she flung herself onto the couch and turned the TV on to the music video channel.

Bella sighed and turned towards the stairs. "I...I think I'm going to go take a nap?"

"Alright," Alice said softly, looking at Rosalie's hunched over figure on the couch. "I'll come wake you up in an hour or so, so we can head to Port Angeles."

"That's fine," Bella nodded her head and went up the stairs, disappearing into the direction of Edward's bedroom.

Edward sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I think I'll go up there with her, to make sure she's okay."

"Okay," Jasper nodded and walked over to where Rosalie was sitting and tried to wrap his arm around her shoulder. She grumbled something and pushed his arm away, scooting away from him.

"Just...try not to catch my house on fire, or something?" Edward said with a light chuckle, earning himself a glare from Rosalie. "Tough crowd," he mumbled as he went up the stairs.

"Sometimes I really hate Bella," Rosalie grumbled, earning a gasp from Alice.

"Why?" Alice asked, turning her wide eyes to Jasper and Emmett, then back to Rosalie. "You know she didn't mean what she said, she was just angry."

"It's not that," Rosalie said softly. "I don't know what I mean, just forget it."

"Okay," Alice took a deep breath and offered a soft smile at Rosalie, who smiled sadly in return.

"So, where do you plan on getting her new outfit?" Rosalie asked Alice, who immediately beamed at the thought of shopping.

"Well, since James got totally hot--yes, you heard me--I'm thinking about going for a more innocent look with a hint of glamour for her. Maybe light colors--and sparkly jewelry. Pull her hair back into a tight pony tail and leave two strands hanging out, of course I'll curl those two strands, and then put maybe three thin headbands in her hair." Alice said in one breath, giving off more information to the simple question Rosalie asked. "I'm thinking, maybe Express and New York and Company? Then, Victoria's Secret, 'cause...well, who knows. She may steal his innocence." Alice giggled crudely.

"Will you ladies be trying on the lingerie," Jasper raised his eyebrows in interest while Emmett smirked and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Maybe," Alice responded, smiling innocently at the boys.

"Do you ladies want a guys opinion on this?" Jasper asked, earning a giggle from Alice.

"Gee, I don't know..."

"We're in," Jasper and Emmett said at the same time.

"Did I invite you guys?" Alice widened her eyes and asked innocently.

"When do we ever listen?" Emmett said with a chuckle.

"Touche." Alice responded. "So, this is a group affair, then?"

Alice turned her head to Rosalie, waiting for her to respond. "Yeah, fine, whatever. We're all in,"

"Good!" Alice clapped her hands and jumped up from her seat, tugging Rosalie with her. "C'mon, let's go check out the websites for NY&C and Express, so we can get an idea of what's in the store,"

"Fine," Rosalie sighed, pulling her hand out of the pixies grasp and following her out of the room.

"Dude," Jasper said, reaching for a high five from Emmett.

Emmett nodded his head in agreement and said, "Dude."

Jasper reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a baggy. "Toke before we go?"

"No, man. I want to be a little sober for this." Emmett shook his head. "And since I've already smoke a bit--I need to cool it for the shower," He wiggled his eyebrows again, earning a laugh from Jasper.

"Good idea," Jasper nodded, slipping the baggy back into his pants with a goofy smile.


	5. Blackout

_You and me are one in the same  
It's the one thing that they can't change._

_Black out the satellite, where should we run to?  
It's getting physical boy  
and if you want to go somewhere no one can find us  
we can get out of here_

-Blackout; Heidi Montag

* * *

As soon as Edward reached his room, Bella was pacing around trying to calm herself down. When he closed the door softly, she turned her head towards him and said, "Why can't they just be happy? Why does everyone always find something wrong with people I date or show…_interest_ in?"

Edward shrugged and placed a hand on her shoulder. "They just worry, you know?"

"Have I ever given them any reason to worry about me?" Bella asked seriously as she flopped down on Edward's bed, leaving a little room for Edward to sit next to her. She frowned as she picked at a fuzzy on his bedding and sighed dramatically.

Edward crawled onto his bed and sat besides her, making the bed tilt for a moment before it quickly righted itself again. There was a comfortable moment of silence that passed between them before Edward took a deep breath and began to speak again.

"It's just…don't take offense to this, Bells. You're just…the most vulnerable out of us." Edward said softly as he reached out to brush a piece of her brown hair away from her eyes. Bella closed her eyes slowly and sighed, leaning into his hand.

"How am I the most vulnerable?" Bella asked softly as she opened her eyes again and connected her dark brown eyes with his emerald eyes.

Edward laughed, "You have that innocent look going. And—I don't know, you're so sensitive towards other peoples feelings. You're the nice one,"

Bella rolled her eyes. "And that makes me vulnerable? How?"

"Maybe I worded that wrong," Edward shrugged his shoulders and chuckled at Bella's facial expression, which was a cross between 'no shit' and 'you lost me again'.

Bella groaned and covered her eyes. "I feel awful for what I said to Rosalie."

"Why?" Edward said, and then added from Bella's confused look. "She deserved it, Bella. Not to mention, it's true—don't feel bad about telling your friends your opinions."

Bella sighed and sat up, starring at Edward for a moment. She studied his familiar face with her chocolate eyes and marveled at how attractive he was, as usual. The reason she dated around a lot so far in her teenage years was because of him. They had always been the closest out of all their friends—and he was always so nice, listening to her complain. Not to mention dealing with her mood swings on a near constant basis. It was a given she'd develop feelings for him sooner or later.

But, he was her best friend and she just couldn't act on her feelings toward him—no matter how badly she wanted too. So, in came the other boyfriends and boy toys. They did help her forget about her blossoming feelings towards her best friend, if only for a moment. But, for some reason it was only Edward that held her attention for longer than a couple of months.

When Bella saw James for the first time today, she felt that maybe—just maybe, he could help her get over those feelings for her best friend. It was a long shot, sure, but James had been crushing on her for years—it would be nice to be worshipped, for once.

"Like what you see?" Edward teased, nudging her with his elbow and smirking.

Bella rolled her eyes and blushed; it was just something she couldn't control. "No—I was just starring at the zit that's taken up residence on your nose."

"Funny," Edward said sarcastically as he pushed her back on to the bed. "You think you're just so funny, don't you, Swan?" He asked, leaning above her with the same smirk he used on her only seconds ago.

Bella pretended to think this over for a moment before saying. "Pretty much, yeah,"

Edward reached down and began tickling her, causing her squeals of laughter to fill the room. Surely, everyone downstairs could hear her laughter also—but no one came knocking, which was good because if they were caught in this position, they would surely be teased for the rest of their lives. Edward stopped for a moment; letting Bella breathe and smiled his famous crooked smile down at her.

Bella childishly stuck her tongue out at him and said, "You're an asshole, Cullen."

As she sat up, she pushed him off of her and he nearly fell off the bed. "Jeeze, Bella, be careful. You know I'm fragile." Edward laughed as he righted himself and smiled at Bella's angry expression.

"What's going on in there?" Alice's voice came from the other side of the door, you could tell she was holding back some giggles by the way her voice was higher pitched than usual. "I'm opening the door, please—if you're not dressed, put some clothing on now."

"Wouldn't you rather dress them?" Emmett's voice teased from outside Edward's room. "Did our little Eddie-kins and Belly-welly finally hook up?"

"Oh, Emmett! You're right! I would love to dress them!" Alice chirped as she opened the door and flung it against the wall, smiling at Bella and Edward sitting on the bed together.

"Ah man, nothing juicy is going on up here. I'm going back downstairs!" Emmett huffed like a fourteen year old boy as he turned and mumbled, "What a rip off," as he headed towards the stairs.

Bella groaned, "Alice. What are you doing up here? It hasn't even been an hour yet!"

"I know," Alice shrugged and smiled widely as she flopped onto the bed, tackling both Edward and Bella.

"Jesus Christ, pixie. You're seriously strong for such a delicate flower," Edward said as he groaned at the way he was laying, it was not comfortable.

"Delicate flower? _Seriously_?" Alice said, raising her eyebrows as she got off of them and sat at their feet with an excited smile across her face.

Bella chuckled, "Edward here isn't making much sense today,"

"Not like any of us ever do," Edward countered, smirking when Bella stuck her tongue out at him. He returned her gesture by flicking her off.

"Children, I am working with children." Alice said dramatically as she placed her hand on her forehead with a sigh.

"What the…" Bella stared at Alice shaking her head and laughing.

"I saw that in a movie once. I also wanted to—I just, thought it was good time to say it?" Alice laughed and changed the topic quickly, "We're going shopping soon."

"Alice! I want at least a couple hours before we even go! I'd like a nap or something." Bella protested, shaking her head and looking at Edward for help.

Edward ran his hand through his bronze hair and chuckled, mumbling something like: "You're on your own." As he stood up from his spot on the bed to stretch, after a moment of standing up he asked, "Do you guys want something to eat? I'm kind of hungry."

"Hell yeah I do!" Emmett's voice rang out from downstairs.

"How the hell did you even hear me?" Edward shouted back, shaking his head while Alice and Bella giggled.

"It's so quiet down here," Emmett hollered back and continued. "Seriously, it's like…oh my god, what if Rosalie and Jasper are dead? Edward! Call 911!"

"He can't be serious," Edward and Bella said at the same time before joining each other in laughter. Edward shook his head and said, "I'm going downstairs for a bit. Pizza sound good?"

"Yeah," Alice nodded.

Bella shrugged her small shoulders, "Sure."

Edward nodded his head at the two girls, taking this as he cue to go order some pizza and walked out of his room, shutting the door behind him with a soft click.

"So, Rose and I were looking at different things online. We're thinking blues and whites for your outfit. Blue is such a pretty color with your skin tone—and white is so pure, I think it would be less intimidating than if you were to wear—oh, say—red or hot pink." Alice rambled on, tugging at Bella.

"And I think neutrals for your makeup. Something simple with your hair—maybe just put it up and then throw in a couple of headbands?" Alice said, waving her hands enthusiastically and reaching over to play with Bella's hair.

Alice's smile got wider, "Oh, and everyone's going to the mall with us."

Bella groaned. "Why?"

"Because it would be good bonding time!" Alice clapped her hands and added, "I think it's time we also get you some new goodies from Victoria's Secret. Oh, and maybe Fredrick's! Oh goodness—I saw the cutest matching bra and panty set on their website! It's absolutely gorgeous—a total must for you! Blue lace, with a cute little black bow in the front!"

"Alice, breathe," Bella said, chuckling and then shaking her head. "I have a budget, remember, I can probably only buy a new top."

"As if I'm going to let you pay for this!" Alice laughed and shook her head. "No way—this is on me."

"Alice," Bella chided.

"Please?" Alice said, giving Bella her famous puppy dog eyes.

Bella sighed and then groaned. "Fine, whatever. As if anyone can ever say no to you,"

"You won't regret this, Bella." Alice smiled as she jumped up and kissed Bella's cheek, before skipping out of the room. "We leave in fifteen minutes!" Alice called over her shoulder.

Bella groaned again, placing her face into her hands and falling back onto the bed with sigh.

* * *

Bella stood in the middle of Victoria's Secret with her friends and watched as Alice and Rosalie dug through various piles of underwear, trying to find something 'suitable' for Bella to wear under her new pale blue dress they bought her at New York and Company only minutes prior.

"Alice, what about this?" Rosalie asked her pixie friend, lifting up a pair of white lacy boy shorts and grinning. Alice was frantically digging through different things because they couldn't find the set she wanted to buy for Bella that she saw online.

Alice turned her head as she threw down a pair of black and white striped boy shorts and nodded her head. "Those are cute. James would probably like them, oh who am I kidding, he'd love them. And, it won't show through her dress. I approve."

"Don't you think Bella should, you know, try them on or something?" Emmett asked, wiggling his eyebrows and rubbing his hands together in excitement.

Rosalie huffed and rolled her eyes, shoving the panties in Bella's direction without saying a word to her. So far, Rosalie had not said much to Bella; clearly she was still angry with her friend. It was starting to bother Bella, but not completely. She would apologize to Rosalie eventually and all will be well again.

"Excuse me, miss?" Alice chirped to one of the workers. A tall strawberry blonde sauntered over to the group, making an obnoxiously loud clicking noise with her black stilettos.

The blonde smiled, eyeing Jasper, Emmett and Edward. "Yes, ma'am?"

Alice wrinkled her nose in disgust at the woman calling her ma'am, but quickly covered it up with a sweet smile. "Do you have a matching bra for those," Alice motioned towards Bella, who held up the boy shorts with an embarrassed look on her face.

"Of course," the blonde said smoothly, brushing her hair off her black jacket and pointing towards the display to the right of them. "If you need to be measured or anything, don't hesitate to ask me." She added in a bored tone, making Alice frown.

"I think we know our sizes," Alice responded coolly as she grabbed Bella's arm, pulling her towards the display and stopping. Her eyes slid down to Bella's chest and reached up to grab the matching bra. Handing it to Bella, she smiled. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Bella said, raising her eyebrows in surprise as she looked at the size of the bra. "How did you know my size?"

Alice shrugged and smiled. "It's a gift. Oh, let's get you some perfume or something. Except, not _Love Spell_, that scent is so overrated."

"I…sure." Bella said in defeat as she followed Alice to the other side of the store, with Rosalie in toe, who was still being unusually quiet.

After picking up a few bottles of perfume, Alice skipped over to the lip-gloss display and grabbed _Cupquake_ with a smile. "Here, this stuff is perfect. Totally kissable,"

Emmett stomped towards them and gagged. "This place smells so…so girly!"

"What did you expect, Emmett?" Rosalie rolled her violet eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "Gym socks?"

"No! I expected to see my three incredibly hot best friends try on some insanely sexy lingerie!" Emmett frowned, turning to look at the mannequin that was behind him. It was wearing a bright red lace nightgown. "Like this! This would look hot on you, Rosie."

Rosalie smirked. "Of course it would," and flipped her perfect blonde hair over her shoulders as she turned her attention towards some lotions.

"Yeah! What happened to you guys modeling some things for us?" Jasper asked as he walked over to Alice and threw his arm over her shoulder, bringing her to his side.

Alice laughed, "I said that we might try things on. I never said we would," she widened her eyes innocently and said, "I'm sorry if we mislead you boys!"

Edward chuckled loudly as he joined them. "The blonde worker just gave me her number," he said as he waved a piece of paper in front of Emmett's face.

Emmett sniffed it, "Oh god, it smells terrible. Like my great aunt Martha's house,"

"But, she was hot at least." Jasper said with a laugh as he pretended to bow down to Edward. "Good work, man,"

"Not that I don't enjoy hearing Edward's ever-so-interesting story about getting Barbie's phone number, but, I think it's time for us to go check out." Alice said, as she fluffed her dark hair and smiled at everyone. "Bella's only got a few hours until her date, and we've got a lot of work to do."

"Yeah, you're right," Rosalie responded smoothly as she walked over to Bella and grabbed the matching bra and panties, along with some bottles of perfume and the lip-gloss. "We've got a lot of work to do," she added as she eyed Bella coldly.

"Bitch," Bella muttered as Rosalie walked away with the items and Alice shaking her head in toe.

Rosalie may be a bitch, but, Bella definitely deserved that dig. Alice paused, turning around to look at her friends and asked, "Are you guys going to wait outside the store for us, or are you coming with us?"

"I'm going to wait outside," Edward responded coolly as he pulled out his cell phone and typed in the number he got. Multi-tasking, he walked out of the store—careful not to run into anyone.

Emmett nodded his head and grabbed Bella's arm. "I'm going to wait outside too; this was such a fucking rip off." He groaned as he tugged Bella after him.

Bella chuckled softly, "I guess I'm going to wait outside also?"

"Damn straight you are, Swan." Emmett grumbled playfully as he and Bella walked out of the store.

"I'll stay with them," Jasper shrugged and smiled as he turned to follow the two girls towards the cash register.

Alice chirped, "We'll meet you guys out there soon. Then we're leaving and getting this show on the road!"

"Oh, what a joy." Bella mumbled as she sat down on a bench outside of the store. "This is going to be a long day, isn't it?"

"Yep," Edward said lazily as he texted someone quickly and slid his phone back into his pocket.

Emmett chuckled. "You bet it is,"

"Fabulous," Bella groaned as she leaned into Emmett's shoulder and sighed. Emmett said softly, "I really wish you weren't going to go out with James tonight, Bells. I really do have a bad feeling about him,"

"I can take care of myself," Bella said softly, trying not to sound harsh. She lifted her head from his shoulder and sat up straight, "Don't worry so much, big guy."

Emmett nodded his head and shifted his eyes to Edward, who was frowning. The two stared at each other for a moment, seeming like they were sharing a silent conversation, causing Bella to frown and sigh as she waited for Alice, Rosalie and Jasper to get out of the store so they could leave.


	6. AN

**Attention readers,**

I'm sorry for the fake-out update. I have not forgotton to update the story, I had a slight problem with my computer crashing (I'm on the laptop right now) again. I already had the next chapter written, but I guess I'll have to rewrite it. I will try to get it up really soon, until then--please be patient. Until then I do have a bit of a snippet for you:

"Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?" James asked seriously as he starred at Bella and started the car with a smile.

Bella laughed lightly and blushed, "You might have mentioned something along those lines."

James cleared his throat. "Well, I mean it. You look...stunning."

I want to thank my loyal readers, I know this stories not perfect and at times I may drag something on. Thank you for putting up with me and _Next to Normal._


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